While investigating the Cooke family of Rustington, Sussex, and Rookley in the Isle of Wight, I came across the “Sholmsted” pedigree in the 1563-4 Visitation of Yorkshire (Harleian Soc. 1881; link to Google books copy: https://books.google.ca/books?
id=pjMEAAAAIAAJ&vq=rikkle&pg=PA358#v=onepage&q&f=false ). I am a bit perplexed. It appears to be appended to the end of the rest of the pedigrees in the Norcliffe manuscript (by the editor, I assume), since the other pedigrees are in alphabetical order.
It seems that it should go with the Aske pedigree, since the only Yorkshire figure in the whole pedigree, as far as I can see, is John Aske (who died in the 1390s), and the editor seems to have indicated this.

What is really odd is the other part of the pedigree, which gives the ancestors of John Cooke of Rustington, Sussex (and Rookley in the Isle of Wight) and John Bramshott of the Isle of Wight. It has the appearance of a visitation pedigree, except with
John Cooke (died about 1500) or John Bramshott (died 1469) as the informant. What is it doing in a 1563 Yorkshire visitation? Is it a reasonable hypothesis that a 15-century manuscript from the Isle of Wight made its way into William Flower’s hands and
he used it for this pedigree?

One thing that makes me suspect this is that several of the names appear to be misreadings. ‘Bohun’ is rendered ‘Bosyne’. ‘Rikle’ is probably supposed to be ‘Rokle’. Even ‘Sholmsted’ is probably a misreading of some or other spelling
of Shovelstrode. Also, there is an editor’s note: “This Pedigree in not in roundles, but in squares.”

The ancestry of Bramshott is accurate (at least until the extra Francis Bohun inserted between Elizabeth and her real father John) and the ancestry of Cooke is probably accurate, and definitely more accurate than it appears in the Sussex visitation.

I don’t know much about visitations. Is it plausible that this pedigree is, or incorporates, a copy of a 15th century pedigree?

Roderick Ward

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...the ancestry of Cooke is probably accurate, and definitely more accurate than it appears in the Sussex visitation.

Actually, on reflection, I am not sure this last statement of mine is very accurate...The Cooke ancestry appears in three different places in the Sussex visitation, with certain inconsistencies, and although there are definitely errors I am not very
certain where the truth lies.

RW

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On Monday, August 8, 2022 at 9:17:25 PM UTC-4, Roderick Ward wrote:

...the ancestry of Cooke is probably accurate, and definitely more accurate than it appears in the Sussex visitation.

Actually, on reflection, I am not sure this last statement of mine is very accurate...The Cooke ancestry appears in three different places in the Sussex visitation, with certain inconsistencies, and although there are definitely errors I am not very

certain where the truth lies.

I am now more certain where the truth lies. None of the visitations is particularly accurate.

The manor of Rustington, Sussex was divided between Joan and Eva, two daughters of John de Bohun and his first wife Isabel, as the heirs of their bodies although John had a son, John, by his second wife, Cecily Filliol. [1]

Joan married John Lisle and was the the mother of the Elizabeth who married John Bramshott.

Eva married first John Barforth (Bereford), and then John Roklee. [2]

John Rokle’s (Roucle’s, Rookley’s) daughter Joan married John Cooke. [3]

Joan and John’s son was Richard Cooke. [4]

[1] [CCR 1368 May 12]
[2] The Berkshire VCH (4:sub Long Wittenham), citing Close Rolls and Plea Rolls, describes a case involving “Eva widow of John de Barforth, then wife of John Roklee.” John Rokle holds half of the manor of Rustington, Sussex in his 1393 ipm.
[3] In National Archives nos. JER/SEL/1/9 and JER/SEL/1/10, in 1389/90 John Roucle gets power of attorney for his dying father Geoffrey in order to give land to John Cook of Wykham and Joan his wife. Elwes and Robinson in A History of the Castles,
Mansions, and Manors of Western Sussex p. 184-185 note that in 1412 that William Bramshott had half of the manor of ‘Rusyton’ and Thomas Haket and the other half, paying out of it an annuity to John Cooke. Joan had a brother, Thomas Rocle, who was
his father’s heir in 1393. This is perhaps the origin of the Thomas Rokesley/Thomas Rikle of the pedigrees.
[4] In Feudal Aids, for the Isle of Wight in 1428: “Ricardus Coke tenent quartam partem f. m. in Rokeley, quod Adam de Rokeley quondam tenuit.” Adam de Rokeley was Geoffrey de Roucle’s elder brother. Geoffrey was his heir. In 1431: “Ricardus Couk
de comitatu Sussexie, gentilman, seisitus fuit, ut de libero tenemento, dicto die Veneris, de iiijta parte un. f. m. in Roucle, in insula predicta.” Richard Cook of Rustington esquire appears in a 1443 case [C 241/229/12]. In a 1455 case concerning
land in Rookley that was once Geoffrey Roucle’s, it is said that Richard Coke’s mother Joan had died seized of it [National Archives no. OG/D/9]. In another case from the late 1450s concerning the destructon of a mill in Rustington, Richard Cook, esq
is the plaintiff and John Bramshott is the defendant [C/1/26/240]. In his 1452 will, John Roucle of Brook left a remainder in his lands to his “cousin” Richard Cook [National Archives no. AC/95/32.75].

Probably all this has been worked out before, but I haven’t been to a library for a while and my google-fu has been letting me down recently.

RW

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I am especially interested in discussing this Cooke lineage.
We believe we are descended from John Cooke, Cpt, Mariner, who died in Barbados in 1694, naming his "Brother Edward Cook of West Grimstead[sic]".


On Sunday, August 14, 2022 at 6:28:56 PM UTC-4, Roderick Ward wrote:

On Monday, August 8, 2022 at 9:17:25 PM UTC-4, Roderick Ward wrote:

...the ancestry of Cooke is probably accurate, and definitely more accurate than it appears in the Sussex visitation.

Actually, on reflection, I am not sure this last statement of mine is very accurate...The Cooke ancestry appears in three different places in the Sussex visitation, with certain inconsistencies, and although there are definitely errors I am not very

certain where the truth lies.

I am now more certain where the truth lies. None of the visitations is particularly accurate.

The manor of Rustington, Sussex was divided between Joan and Eva, two daughters of John de Bohun and his first wife Isabel, as the heirs of their bodies although John had a son, John, by his second wife, Cecily Filliol. [1]

Joan married John Lisle and was the the mother of the Elizabeth who married John Bramshott.

Eva married first John Barforth (Bereford), and then John Roklee. [2]

John Rokle’s (Roucle’s, Rookley’s) daughter Joan married John Cooke. [3]

Joan and John’s son was Richard Cooke. [4]

[1] [CCR 1368 May 12]
[2] The Berkshire VCH (4:sub Long Wittenham), citing Close Rolls and Plea Rolls, describes a case involving “Eva widow of John de Barforth, then wife of John Roklee.” John Rokle holds half of the manor of Rustington, Sussex in his 1393 ipm.
[3] In National Archives nos. JER/SEL/1/9 and JER/SEL/1/10, in 1389/90 John Roucle gets power of attorney for his dying father Geoffrey in order to give land to John Cook of Wykham and Joan his wife. Elwes and Robinson in A History of the Castles,

Mansions, and Manors of Western Sussex p. 184-185 note that in 1412 that William Bramshott had half of the manor of ‘Rusyton’ and Thomas Haket and the other half, paying out of it an annuity to John Cooke. Joan had a brother, Thomas Rocle, who was
his father’s heir in 1393. This is perhaps the origin of the Thomas Rokesley/Thomas Rikle of the pedigrees.

[4] In Feudal Aids, for the Isle of Wight in 1428: “Ricardus Coke tenent quartam partem f. m. in Rokeley, quod Adam de Rokeley quondam tenuit.” Adam de Rokeley was Geoffrey de Roucle’s elder brother. Geoffrey was his heir. In 1431: “Ricardus

Couk de comitatu Sussexie, gentilman, seisitus fuit, ut de libero tenemento, dicto die Veneris, de iiijta parte un. f. m. in Roucle, in insula predicta.” Richard Cook of Rustington esquire appears in a 1443 case [C 241/229/12]. In a 1455 case
concerning land in Rookley that was once Geoffrey Roucle’s, it is said that Richard Coke’s mother Joan had died seized of it [National Archives no. OG/D/9]. In another case from the late 1450s concerning the destructon of a mill in Rustington,
Richard Cook, esq is the plaintiff and John Bramshott is the defendant [C/1/26/240]. In his 1452 will, John Roucle of Brook left a remainder in his lands to his “cousin” Richard Cook [National Archives no. AC/95/32.75].

Probably all this has been worked out before, but I haven’t been to a library for a while and my google-fu has been letting me down recently.

RW

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